Artificial Villain
by Abbirinth
Summary: You're the hero and I'm the villain and forever my brother you'll be.
1. Artificial Hero

Chapter One Artificial Hero

* * *

In the end it really was all worthless. Worthless, just like she said. Like they said. Of course I didn't listen. The hero never does. He stands against all of the doubt and triumphs. He is strong, brave, courageous, and even through the toughest battles he continues to stand victor. He grows in both the mind and the body. He'll succeed his mission, bringing the peace his kind heart desires. He'll fulfill his dreaming aspirations. A fool's dream, but it's all worth it in his eyes.

So he fights. He'll continue to fight until his last breath. Until he returns home bathed in the light of a glorified champion, with his love by his side, and his friends at his back. He'll be happy. Living out the rest of his days in peace, but is always prepared for the moment he can go on another adventure. Save the world a second time. Be a hero a second time.

He'll be loved regardless. Worshiped in fabricated legends and half truths. An idol.

Then he'll spawn a love child. A mini champion destined for great things. He'll train him to fight. Teach him lessons of the heart and building blocks of a strong mentality. He'll know something. Some unfinished business or some inevitability that he can no longer face. His child will begin his journey at the death or disappearance of his father. Then the world sets on repeat.

I want to be that hero. I was starved for it really. Protect your love ones, deal punishment to the wicked, and be loved in return for it. What was there not to like? You become stronger. You become strong. You are strong. It sounded and felt great.

I knew I wanted to be a hero. Maybe not the world, or a country's, or a town. But I thought that I could at least focus this heroism onto one person, or at my best, two. My mother and my brother. I tried to be their hero. Dependable and strong. Help her not to cry and protect him from the bullies. I was four when I knew I wanted to be a hero.

But someone has to be the villain.

The bullies became irrelevant, they didn't have the intent. I needed a villain. The mean teachers? No, they'll never just outright attack. My father? No, he's more like a missing character. Someone whose mentioned for back story development but never really makes an appearance. Even if he did show up, he'd only be a support character at most.

The villain was my brother. I knew it when he confided in me about his hatred for the bullies. His animosity and that dark glare had no right scaring his face. But it was there. He was the villain to my hero. I knew this. I still wanted to be a hero. I can't be half-assed. I want to be his hero. So the only answer was for me was to be his villain.

I turned around one day. Giving him my best glare. The same glare I practiced so many times in the mirror. I glared at myself so I'd know how much it hurt. So I could make it hurt more.

"You're so useless!"

Taking in a breath I screamed at him.

"You're always causing trouble for me!"

"I wish you'd never been born!"

"Dad left because he didn't want two kids!"

"But you just won't disappear!"

"I always hated you!"

"Why can't you just leave me alone and got die somewhere!"

"Me and mom would be so much happier if you did!"

"You waste of space!"

I spat.

Then I added, for good measure. To make the pain really last.

"No good-Tsuna!"

I pushed him down. The action was unneeded since he was probably too stunned to even notice.

We were seven when this happened. I continued to work hard to break him.

My twin.

I stopped protecting him. Snickering with the class when the teachers made a fool out of him. Absorbed all of mom's attention. Played on my strengths and made him feel worthless. I even carried his nickname throughout the school years. There was no Tsuna without the Dame. I'd mentally apologize every day, but the worse the villain, the better the hero.

He needs a reason to be a hero and I was giving him a reason in the only way I could.

I watched him.

At first I didn't think he was improving. He just seemed to reel in. Trapping himself and holding it in. But there was hope. He was good. I knew he was.

He'd always help mom and worried about me regardless of what I did to him. He became more forgiving of the bullies. He did small acts of kindness every day that easily went overlooked. Watering flowers, feeding kittens, and willingly being volunteered as teacher's assistant even though he didn't have a choice. He did anything he could to be good. He wanted to be good. He was good. The only flaw to this goodness is that he himself was unaware and felt it was more like atonement. He didn't know that his small actions were making a big difference. He made all together large efforts but didn't receive and thing in return. This was good. A hero always does good in his life but receives glory only for the big successes.

I frowned. This won't make him a hero. All hero's need to defeat their villain. He was patient and tolerant, not resolved and determined. I had to push him to be a hero, but how? He had no friends to protect and his only love was superficial. As good as he was, he's still a coward and he won't go through great lengths for her when he'd just compromise the situation and reasons things out in his head. He's a coward, and afraid to push himself to be more than he is. So I had to push him. I did, but it just wasn't working.

I will never hurt mom. I just can't grab him by the collar and tell him to beat the shit of me.

I was lost. Then Reborn came.


	2. Artificial Friend

Chapter Two Artificial Friend

* * *

The Vongola chose me. Tsuna and I both learned this at the same time. He must've thought something like of course I was the obvious choice since he was 'no good' and I sighed at their stupid mistake. But no, this was the perfect mistake. An opportunity.

"Dame-Tsuna, get out of my room."

He left immediately. Of course he did.

The pain that met my face was unexpected, but I took it in stride.

"Be kind to your brother."

That means he's already aware of the relationship between Tsuna and me.

I looked him the eyes. I smiled.

"I am."

He frowned. I sighed. Reborn can help me with this. Making Tsuna a hero. But his concerns is on making me a mafia boss. He's useless to me. He might try to force a better relationship between me and Tsuna but I can't allow it. He needs to be purely on Tsuna's side. If he can train me he can surely train Tsuna.

So I kicked it up a notch and bullied Tsuna even more in front of Reborn. Even if it resulted in greater pain and harsher training, I kept reminding myself, Tsuna will become a hero. All heroes become happy one way or another. Happy days, sad days, good days, bad days, I want Tsuna to go through them all.

I laughed to myself.

"Tsuna is so lucky to have me."

Reborn frowned. I sighed.

Well, being a hero is better than being a villain where you have nothing to expect but the end. I didn't want Tsuna to fester in the hatred the bullies would have caused. He would hate the world that threatened the happiness of our small family and then he'd be some angsty killer or something. Now that I know that we're inevitably connected to the mafia, I'm happy that Tsuna didn't go down that path and end up somewhere worse than he is now. I can't protect him now. Not even from the serious things because I can't risk losing this facade. Every event will help him grow stronger.

I didn't fight, object, protest, or even resist Reborn's training sessions, whether or not they were absurd or downright weird. I focused my energy on annoying him and acting disrespectful. I needed him to hate me.

Every time it became too much for him he would leave, probably to blow off steam. No matter how hard he trains me he can't kill me.

I felt proud. Tsuna was obviously kind and caring and whatever other good traits you want to tag him with. I was driving Reborn to Tsuna. I was becoming stronger. He can make Tsuna stronger too.

I continued to watch as usual. I didn't bother hiding it from Reborn. That's too troublesome and I need to make sure that Tsuna stays on track. Whether I should lessen or heighten my bullying to give him space to grow or add fuel to the fire. It was complicated. The balance had to stay leveled to just me pushing him before I pushed him over the edge. It was too soon.

Tsuna became concerned with Takeshi. My presumed best friend. I knew he was having some trouble with baseball and him being him kept showing his troubles on his face. I can't understand why no one else noticed or decided to ignore it, but Tsuna sees it, and that's all that matters. I never acted harsh with Takeshi, if not a little standoffish, but now I needed to act cruel.

Takeshi came to me for advice and I berated him in turn. Tsuna heard it all one way or another. Takeshi attempted suicide. Tsuna saved him with some long assed personal speech that made me proud at his budding heroism 'cause heroes give personal speeches that affect people emotionally. They were okay through some intervention and ended up with a stronger than life bond. Takeshi and our own bond became strained and awkward. I continued to act cruel to his confusement, pushing him towards Tsuna.

"You're losing a strong ally." Reborn commented.

"Yep." I ignored him.

Tsuna's gaining a great friend and so did Takeshi in return.

Time passed and I realized that as long as I acted cruel to people they seem to naturally gravitate towards Tsuna. Gokudera was a bit more troublesome with the whole undying loyalty to the tenth thing but it was obvious who his loyalties really belong to. Reborn acted disappointed with me and proud with Tsuna. He was conflicted.

My training sessions became more and more self-study. Just Reborn telling me what to do and leaving. When he came back he would skim over my work, hit me, and then leave me to myself. I smiled. He must be training Tsuna now. Or at least having some part in it.

This was great. Tsuna already became a hero to his friends, and now he'll become even greater.

I trained harder. If Tsuna's getting stronger than I'll also have to get stronger. Reborn's training him, not me, and I don't want to be an easily defeated villain. I probably won't be his only villain but I want to be his worst one. It's a strange pride thing. I can't be his first and I won't be his last, but after me nothing should compare. I want to help make him stronger personally instead of indirectly. I can only hope that he doesn't fall before then but that's useless.

In this story he's the hero, he'll live to a bright future even if it's in the mafia. I just need to prepare my mind for my defeat. I'll have to die at Tsuna's hand and clear the path for him. Being an obstacle sucks but that's what villains do. It felt heavy but I was relieved. I knew what I had to do and I was excited for the results of it. I won't see it but it makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than I can imagine.

With this resolve in mind I discovered my flame shortly before the Mukuro incident.

Tsuna short of, kinda, acquired another ally.

This flame was something that I definitely had to hide from Reborn. Thankfully it's easy hiding everything when you're being neglected.


	3. Artificial Witness

Chapter Three Artificial Witness

* * *

At some point I realized that Reborn was giving me busy work. And by 'some point' I meant the first time he instructed me to collect all the rocks in Namimori that matched his detailed description. Said it'll help with noticing small details and crap. Awareness, focus and some other bull. He left immediately, neither of us expecting me to do it. I did it anyway.

It was the weekend and I deserved a break from all of my meddling and bitchiness. I took a relaxing walk around town in whatever direction my intuition tugged me. If Tsuna has it then I do too since we're both of Vongola blood. It happened to lead me to a lot of rocks that matched Reborn's description. After ten rocks I took an easier pace.

I remembered how Tsuna had fought during his fight with Mukuro. I had followed them of course, though I'm not sure if Reborn knew or not. He probably did.

I need the power of the hyper dying will if I'm gonna get anywhere, and I'm actually already half way there. But I don't have Reborn in my life to trigger it. There are no bullets and I doubt I'm gonna end up in a near death situation anytime soon and meanwhile Tsuna's getting stronger. It's troublesome. I need to find villains of my own so I can get stronger. I need villains stronger than myself.

I knew Tsuna only use that power in certain situations so he won't have time to practice. However he does spar with Hibari now and then and who knows when Reborn will include it in his training. I need to figure all this out soon. I can't get in the way of Tsuna's progress or ask him to wait so I can catch up. I need some time to get the hang of using my flame and get used to it so I don't faint every time I activate it. I need Tsuna to slow down so I don't destroy my body. I play with the identical rocks in my hand. Maybe if he was unable to practice, I think to myself, maybe I should break him a bit?

I sighed. Before this is all over I got to thank Reborn and kick his ass one day. He made Tsuna stronger, which I'm thankful for, and also helped him find his resolve. But in return I had to sacrifice Tsuna watching time. I can't keep tabs on his weakness if I don't watch how he's getting stronger. I've also been acting like an all around jerk, not sure on how I should moderate it. Tsuna changed from meek and shy to a stronger but more reserved form of himself before I knew it. He's becoming more and more rebellious against my bullying and even talked back if I insulted his friends. I didn't relent but made it more infrequent. On week giving him an onslaught of insults, leaving him be the next, and then punching him in the jaw the one after.

His friends hated me but he always stopped them from exacting any vengeance. He would look at me as if I was a poor and pitiful monster that couldn't be helped. I guess in some ways I was…

One day I happened to be caught alone with Tsuna. I was researching some stuff on the internet about this whole mafia thing. It's really surprising just how many mafia families like to gloat about their power through the internet. I was so deep into it I didn't hear mom call me down for dinner so she in her ignorance sent Tsuna up to get me. Nobody really thought about it since it had been relatively peaceful and I haven't been really acting out. Even Tsuna seemed too confident when he opened my door. Though I guess becoming stronger and having a worshipping Gokudera follow you around can give you a real ego boost. I didn't need Tsuna to become arrogant and remembering those thoughts from some days ago I figured now was as good a time as ever to break Tsuna, just a little.

I didn't turn around when he called my name. It's been a while since I heard him speak it without stuttering, but now isn't the time to reminisce. I made a tch sound. He said my name again in concern.

"You really are getting carried away, Dame-Tsuna."

I turned around and glared. He took a step back in surprise but his body obviously tensed and he naturally assumed a defensive pose. By the time the others got up here my room was already trashed and Tsuna was halfway unconscious, bleeding from the head and I was straddling his body, I had just bashed his head into the floor. I had gotten lucky. I was able to catch Tsuna off guard and he had underestimated my own strength. I won't be able to use the same tricks again, but the next time we fight, I shouldn't need to.

When Reborn and his friends appeared in the door way I had Tsuna's arm in a hold and I was breaking it at the elbow. Reborn had pulled out his gun and Tsuna's arm snapped. It was more instinctive really when I had dodged the bullet. I mean, all of this would have been pointless if I ended up in the hospital longer than Tsuna. Though he should be in there for a while. I made sure to do some serious damage to him so I could train and catch up while he's recovering. A bit cowardly but all's fair in war. Takeshi had tackled me off of Tsuna and Gokudera had Tsuna's broken body cradled in his arms. I laughed a bit at Tsuna's broken nose. I had given him nose bleeds before but it's the first time I had actually broken his nose.

The fight wasn't easy but I didn't end up anywhere near as bad as Tsuna. It's a shame to say that I was seriously on the defensive before I could get the upper hand and I almost decided to just give in to Tsuna's attempt at reasoning me out of the fight when it really felt like I was going to lose. But it was exciting to have Tsuna fight back. It was amazing just how far Tsuna had gone. Amazing…

Hibari had called an ambulance and I had ended up locked in the bathroom. I wasn't spoken to but I'm sure that as soon as they make sure Tsuna is alright that they'll come back and beat the shit out of me. Bubbles just filled up my chest and I couldn't stop the uncontrollable laughter. If it felt this good now, how will it be in the future when we fight as hero and villain? Arch nemesis and all that. I sighed leaning back on the wall. I bet it'll be amazing…

I had eventually stopped because of the loud yelling on the other side of the door. They had left Bianchi to watch me. I couldn't stay here; I need to get moving as fast as I can. I don't know for sure just how long Tsuna's gonna e hospitalized, especially with Reborn's resources. I kicked down the door and evaded Bianchi and her poison cooking, dashed into my room and grabbed my emergency bag from under my bed. Bianchi was right behind me when I jumped out my window. She probably would have chased me to the end of the earth if I hadn't thrown that book at her.

Nothing was gonna get in my way of becoming Tsuna's greatest villain. Not even Tsuna himself, and now that he knows what I'm capable of he'll see me as his enemy and not a troubled brother with anger issues. Looking at the sky, I think to myself, this was a good day.


	4. Artificial Student

Chapter Four Artificial Student

* * *

By the time I got back Tsuna's arm was in a sling and most of his external injuries had healed. He had just been discharged from the hospital so I'm sure he had plenty of time to heal them. He's still being watched since he's been in a medically induced coma for most of the time and his body is still messed up. I guess I should have thought more about internal bleeding and slamming Tsuna's head into the floor might not be the best thing for his brain. He could have died if not for the emergency surgery and I'm pretty sure I would have been arrested for attempted murder if Hibari didn't keep all of this hushed.

So when I got back I went straight for school instead of home. Tsuna wasn't there of course and I had seen him much later in the day. His friends weren't there either and nobody in school knew what happened so I just spent the whole day enjoying being popular. I was sure that Reborn knew I was here and Tsuna's friends had glared at me from the moment they saw me. Avoiding Hibari was a bit tricky but it was doable. Avoiding Takeshi and Gokudera was impossible since we were all in the same class.

Gokudera didn't even bother waiting. He lunged at me the second he saw me enter the room. There was an uproar from the other students as Gokudera straddled my body and punch me repeatedly. I made a flimsy attempt to guard my face, not really feeling the need to fight back. The teacher attempted to pull Gokudera off me but was hit by Gokudera's elbow when he pulled back to punch me again.

Off to the side, Takeshi stood still, hands clenched in a tight fist. Hibari appeared in the corridor. I'm sure he took his time getting here since he seemed to have a built-in radar for disturbances that happen on the school's ground. It's not that surprising for Hibari to put the school rules above his own personal feelings for me. The fight was ended with plenty of obscenities from Gokudera and Takeshi's own disagreement but Hibari made it clear that anyone who fought in the school would be bitten to death. The way he seemed to enunciate the school part also made it clear that I was fair game anywhere else in the world.

Another student who wasn't important enough for me to remember their name carried my body to the nursery. I was ignored by Dr. Shamal but was allowed to patch myself up. I suppose that's because I'm still the chosen heir for Vongola Decimo and he can't kill me with one of those trident mosquitoes without having the mafia coming after him. Reborn finally popped into existence, not even waiting a second before holding me at gunpoint. I almost laughed at the cliché of a mafioso holding a grudge. That's as predictable as it get for Reborn.

He demanded for me to explain myself. Dr. Shamal stood in the sidelines trying to avoid being a witness to my possible murder. I allowed a lazy half smile to stretch my lips. My face hurt and my vision was messed up because of the cool patch I stuck over my swelling left eye, but it was worth it. Screwing with Reborn was the only real enjoyment that I got anymore. The rest of my time is spent on making Tsuna a hero so this is the only reprieve I ever get.

"Hmmm." I said lazily, as if I was actually considering the question.

Then making eye contact with a slight head tilt and smile still in place, I said "He pissed me off".

Reborn reacted instantly, smacking me with the hard metal of his gun across my face. I was receiving a lot of abuse today, but it's worth it. There's no point getting into a real fight. Playing the passive role will pay off later.

The further beating I received made me question my own decision a bit but I disregarded it. I slept in the clinic's bed. Resting and dripping a little blood on the pure white sheets. I was debating on whether I should go home like this, or if I should go home at all. Mom was completely absent in that moment where I had beaten Tsuna to near death. Does she know? The ambulance must've made it obvious that something had happened. How did she take my sudden disappearance? Was she relieved? I always knew that she was worrying herself to death over Tsuna and my relationship. How she felt helpless about how she couldn't stop the pain that was happening right in front of her.

I never bullied Tsuna right in front of her but I never made any real effort to hide it since it would only hinder the process. Acting like a good boy in front of her made her doubt it a bit but I had chosen to sacrifice the relationship with her after Reborn came. Things had to happen and I had to make them happen. It's a part of being a villain. Being hated by everyone that is.

I stared at the ceiling; any feeling of comfort from the bed was lost to me. I didn't want to go home. Getting in contact with Tsuna so fast isn't a good idea anyway. I shouldn't have even come back now but I was brought back by a moment of insecurity. I just had to make sure that Tsuna was still alive. I only came to terms with the fact that I had went overboard with the fight after the high had went down. I started to worry that maybe I was a bit too hasty but its fine now.

How will Tsuna react when he hears that I'm back? Will he seek me out? He must've given up on us being at peace with each other by now. But then again, he is the hero. He'll still try to reason me out or try to understand me. Getting him to hate me will take more than that but I don't want to do that right now. The moment that he hates me will mark the beginning of the end for me.

School ended. Dr. Shamal had let me stay thirty minutes longer before kicking me out. I stalled a bit. Nowhere is really safe right now for me right now. Staying late will give Hibari a reason to bite me to death and there's a chance that Takeshi, Gokudera and even Sasagawa-Sempai could be waiting for me. I didn't want to deal with it. Gokudera has called me a coward plenty of times before but only now was I really feeling it. I don't want to fight back just yet. I'll be revealing myself too early but I really didn't see any other option.

Silently I repeated to myself "Only thirty percent." as I exited the main building. Walking down across the courtyard, I could feel them closing me off before I actually saw them. Hibari to my front be the gate. Gokudera to my back, and Takeshi and Sasagawa-Sempai at my sides. There was a prickling feeling on my skin for a moment but I relaxed myself. I laughed to myself. Well, this sure makes a great beginning all right. I'll feel bad for hurting Takeshi a bit but I don't give a shit about the others. Anything for Tsuna to be a hero.


	5. Artificial Monster

Chapter Five Artificial Monster

* * *

As I wiped the blood on my hands on my shirt I heard him scream my name. Tsuna had arrived. I looked over at him maintaining the bored and uninterested expression I knew I needed to have on for this moment.

"Y-you… how could… you."

The last word seemed to drift off as he stared in utter disbelief. I couldn't believe it myself actually. Somehow they forced me to use more than my previously promised thirty percent. They got stronger. A lot stronger. I found myself wondering how much stronger did Tsuna get but I refocused to the problem at hand. They were a lot stronger than they used to be. Hibari was plenty times faster, Sasagawa-Sempai's fists were practically on fire, Gokudera's bombs appeared to move on their own almost as if they were following my movement, and Takeshi had a freaking sword, or katana, or whatever it's called. That scale of improvement from the last time we met shocked me.

At least it did until I saw the faint glow of the rings. It was showing up beneath their shirts. I had to throw in a conveniently placed attack that happened to rip open Takeshi's shirt so I could see the actual rings on the chain necklace. The laugh that bubbled up was abrupt and distracted me long enough for Sasagawa-Sempai to blast me away a few meters. It was getting freaky to me just how accurate the hyper intuition actually is. The reason I felt the huge urge to come back was because of this. The beginning of the end really had started, regardless if I was there to witness it or not.

Now that Tsuna was glaring at me with rage in his eyes, I could really feel that he was becoming a great hero. He really cared about his friends. I was proud of his. My expression slipped a bit and my smile felt actually genuine for once. The confusion that showed on Tsuna's face made me got my act back together. I'm the villain and he's the hero. There's no place for affection between us.

"They were annoying."

"You're a monster."

That settled it. I frowned a bit. Wasn't there supposed to be a speech right here? Something about me being the scum of the Earth and years of built up resentment and a lot more words that's been left unsaid for years. That sentence alone left me feeling… dissatisfied. That couldn't be it. That sentence alone couldn't reveal all the feelings Tsuna has for me. I'm the villain here. The hero should always have more to say. I stared at Tsuna a bit. Was he holding back?

The smile returned to my face.

"Who cares about getting rid of a few pests?"

I kicked the side of Gokudera's head lightly. I really loved picking on him.

"Trash like this deserves to be erased from the world."

Tsuna only tightened his fist more. He gathered his flame slowly bringing himself into hyper dying will mode. He was preparing.

"Never again. I won't let you hurt the people important to me ever again."

I frown again. I had let it hang for a moment just to see if he was going to add anything but he didn't.

"That's it?"

I question, showing more feeling than I should have.

"I beat your friends to near death, destroy more than half the school, and endanger the lives of innocent students and that's all you have to say?"

I sigh.

"It's going to take a bit more, I guess." I mutter to myself.

I attack before Tsuna has the chance to really think about what I've just said. With each punch I aimed at him a new question popped up in my mind.

Why did he hesitate? Why didn't he just attack me on sight? Why did he hesitate? Does he actually fear me?

I pondered that a bit. There was a bit of over cautiousness in his fighting. I must've traumatized him a bit more than I realized. Well, that's fine. Overcoming that fear can be another goal added to his hero campaign.

His lack of speech is probably my fault to. He didn't talk much or at all for the years I've been bullying him. It wasn't until Reborn came did he start talking again and even then it's still a couple of words at a time. He'll need to learn to speak his mind. I'll have to leave that to Reborn though.

I pushed him back. Sidestepping his punch and kicking him in the gut. He was fighting with a still healing arm and the good arm he does have isn't his dominant one. But I've got a handicap too. I was blinded in one eye and I've been beaten up twice and just came out of a four way battle. So Tsuna should have the greater advantage here, especially with his flaming gloves and hyper dying will mode. I'll have to enter my own soon with the way he's pushing me and I still don't have a signature weapon.

I huffed a bit, knowing that I was going to have to change tactics. The goal was never to beat Tsuna. I wanted him to feel a little bit empowered by running away mid way but I don't think I can maintain this level of fighting while holding my own still. Tsuna's learning curve was making itself known again as he was increasingly getting harder to fight off.

I allowed Tsuna to get in some hits and attacked while his defense was down. I toppled him, pinning him momentarily. I quickly intertwined his hands with mine holding him down. I subtly absorbed his flames to weaken his flames that were burning the flesh of my hands. He struggled a bit but as the energy left him, he just glared at me in contempt.

He soon stopped moving, feeling the effect of exhaustion in his body that hasn't been doing any exercise for weeks and the lack of flames keeping his body going. I smirked, releasing one of his hands while continuing to absorb his flame with the other.

"What are you doing?"

I ignored his question. Trailing my fingers down his neck, flittering softly against his collarbone and tugging at his shirt collar. The glint of the silver chain revealed itself and I was soon holding the ring, pulling the chain against Tsuna's neck.

"Why do you have this? The half ring."

"H-how do you- Gack!"

I pulled on the chain harshly, making it strain against his windpipe.

"That's not answering the question Dame-Tsuna."

I let the chain slack a bit so he could speak.

"You weren't here so-"

"So you thought you could take my place?"

Feeling a bit sadistic I continued to say.

"Aw, poor little Dame-Tsuna thought that he could actually be someone. Too bad that he forget that he forgot his place in the world. You're nothing and always will be. I should've killed you a long time ago. I've always wanted too but you floundering attempts at living is actually a bit more entertaining."

I release the chain, letting it and the ring clunk against Tsuna's chest.

"Keep it, I don't need it. You might as well get stronger and become an actual challenge before I wipe away your pitiful existence. Though I doubt that you'll actually get that far. You're just so weak."

I laugh a bit, enjoying the anguish in his expression.

"Don't worry; I won't break you this time. You've got a ring battle to fight after all. Hey, maybe if you actually make it out alive against Xanxus you'll actually stand a chance against me. Do you think you could actually be a little less pathetic, a little less worthless, a little less no good? I don't think so. You can't even avenge your so called 'important people'. Well if you die I'll make sure that you're not lonely in the afterlife and take care of all your friends too."

I could feel the hate rolling off him in waves. There was a boost in his flame output as his resolve strengthens.

I laugh.

"Oh? Did that upset you?"

I smirk.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Egging him on, I laugh again.

"I can just imagine it. You crying your stupid little head off while I rip out the hearts of each and every one of your 'important people'."

I slow my speech, naming the people he care about one by one.

"-Hibari, Mukuro, and of course I'm not going to forget those annoying brats. Lambo, Fuuta, and I-pin. I'll really enjoy taking out Bianchi, maybe I'll even give her a taste of her own poison cooking and melt her guts out. All that's left is Reborn and…"

I draw it out as if I'm having trouble remembering.

"Mom." I say, dropping the bomb.

In a fraction of a second Tsuna eyes widen simultaneously as the once diminishing flame on his gloves erupts, searing my flesh and causing me to let go. He screamed while lunging at me, his hands grabbing my throat. The position switched, him sitting on me as he strangled me, crushing my throat.

I somehow maintained my composure. Smirk still in place. His eyes were glowing bright orange tinted red. All his hate was there.

"Monster."

I punched him off me. I could see the fear in his eyes from the fact that he was almost pushed to murder by me.

"Good."

I say. Showing enjoyment of his display of weakness. His hand were trembling, he couldn't believe what he had just done.

"Don't feel so bad. We monsters got to stick together. If we don't, who else is going to bring chaos to the world?"

He didn't look at me. He just continued to stare at his hands.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU!" He screamed. "NOTHING! I WOULD NEVER-"

"Try to kill your brother?"

I provide the end of his sentence. This just shakes him up more and tears of frustration start to well up in his eyes. I place one hand on his shoulder.

"Well it's to be expected. We are twins after all. There was bound to be some similarities. It just took you way too long to show them."

He doesn't respond, just frozen in place.

I stand, dusting myself off though it does little to get rid of the mess on me.

"Hopefully the next time we meet you'll be a bit more… corrupted."

I leave him to stew in his own mental turmoil. It was just perfect, I thought to myself. Now Tsuna will do anything to not be a villain. A little darkness is just fine for a hero. Now he'll chase after the light and I won't have to worry about him going to the dark side while I'm absent. He'll be to set on not becoming like me. I hope he'll never become anything like me…


End file.
